Natsu...please...come home.

"Erza! I can't find Rose!" A shrill voice wailed, causing the red haired knight to wipe around, her eyes fierce at the mention of her daughter. "Erza!"

Lucy, the woman who had been screaming, stopped when she ran down the stairs of her friends house, only to smack into her armoured chest. "What do you mean, you can't find her?" Erza asked, her voice alone holding every threat she could possibly think of. Her daughter was her life, and if anything happened to her, there would be hell to pay.

"I mean I can't find her! I went to grab her like you said, and she wasn't there!" Lucy cried, her fingers digging and twisting into her hair. "I'm so sorry Erza!"

"Save it! We must find her! I cannot sense her in the house, she must have slipped past me and gone outside." She claimed, running for her door. Or worse... She thought to herself as she ran down the road, looking for her precious baby girl. Where could she have gotten?

She searched every place she could think of, even asking her neighbors and nearby shops if they had seen her wander in. When she got a negative for each and every one, she began to get discouraged. Stepping inside of a small alley, she started to shake, clenching her eyes shut. Tears started to run down her face from her only real eye, the other side completely dry. "R-Rose..." She stuttered, pressing a palm to her face.

Rose Dragneel was the only thing she had left of her love. The condition she was conceived in was exactly as everyone assumed: after a battle. Erza and Natsu had just gotten to their shared place, as they had been together for nearly a year at that time, and they needed to...release some tension. Erza still blushed whenever she thought of that night. It was long, and passionate, and at the same time it was loving. Several weeks later after a check up from Wendy, they found out she was pregnant. Erza had been frightened at first- which was shocking- but after much consolation from Natsu that she would be a great mother, she eventually warmed up to the idea, loving her baby more than ever.

But then they had to tell the guild. And it gone exactly the way they never wanted it to go. The guild had been ecstatic, if not a little worried that they might have been too young- they were more worried that Natsu wasn't mature enough to be a father- but The Master had been the complete opposite. He was furious, and spent hours screaming and yelling at Natsu for being so foolish as to do that and for being so careless for not preventing it. Natsu had defended her, but that only made it worse. Makarov had then said that he could stay for the baby's birth, that was all. After that Natsu would be excommunicated.

It had seemed extremely harsh at first, but when they both thought about it, it only seemed natural. When two powerful mages have a baby, especially that young, the baby would then be powerful as well (It didn't help that Natsu was a Dragon Slayer and naturally had a large power reserve anyway.) and it would put both the baby and the mother in danger, as they were both considerably weakened. And so he stayed until Rose was born (he was the one who picked her name) and then he packed and left, his guild mark disappearing along with him.

Erza cried even harder as she remembered the pain of him leaving, of him kissing her and their daughter's forehead before he grabbed his bags, Happy following him, and he left. His guild mark had disappeared as soon as Rose had been born. Suddenly, as she wiped her face dry, she heard a small voice call out from behind her.

"Mama?"

Spinning around, she gasped when she saw her baby standing there, her big brown eyes wide with fright and her hands twisting her light blue nightgown. Her long, dark pink hair fell over her shoulders, and Erza repressed a sob as she rushed forward, grabbing her daughter to her chest. "Oh, Rose, I was so worried!" She exclaimed. The little girl reached up and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, burying her face into her neck. "Why'd you run off?"

Rose shook her head, burrowing her face deeper. "I didn' run off Ma'ma! Daddy told me to!" Rose said happily, not noticing what her words meant.

Erza froze at that, her mind working on overdrive. Daddy...? But...Natsu left! He isn't allowed to come back! He was never allowed to come back! "You're silly Rose. Daddy can't be here. Daddy's gone." Her mind screamed at her in frustration-but also happiness. If Natsu was back then she could finally see him one last time; be with him and Rose like a real family.

"Silly Ma'ma. Daddy's right behind you." A soft voice said from behind her, causing her to almost drop her daughter in shock, which she would never do. She didn't turn around, only holding her baby girl tighter. She felt two arms wrap around her, and despite being covered by sleeves, she could feel the power and warmth running through the man's veins, enveloping her completely. "Surprise Erza." He said, his warm breath brushing against her neck. "I couldn't miss my little girl's birthday, now could I?"

"Natsu..." She breathed, "My Natsu...How are you here? You were excommunicated- you're not even supposed to step foot in Magnolia. Does The Master know you're here?"

Natsu sighed, pressing a kiss her hair before he kissed the top of Rose's head. Erza realized with a start that from the looks from the passersby, they were giving of quite the impression of some long lost family reuniting after years of separation. Which was almost the truth. "It's a long story. So long story short, I was told that on Rose's fifth birthday I could come back. Gramps figured that five years would be enough to get the guys off your tail. So here I am." Erza stepped out of his grasp and turned, staring at him. He grinned at her, the same grin as always. The one that said 'don't worry, I got everything under control'.

"You look older." She murmured, looking him over. He had gotten taller, he was probably taller than Gray now, and he had more muscle- not that he really needed it- but he also looked worn. Like he had just escaped a battle with his life, but he could still smile about it.

Natsu shrugged, the cloak wrapped around his body sweeping across the ground. "Eh, that's what happens when you spend five years away from your family as you're fighting for your life." His grin softened and he smiled at her and their daughter who looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm home."

Rose beat Erza to it. "Welcome home Daddy!" She squealed, reaching her arms out. Natsu reached out as well and took her, letting her climb up onto his shoulders like a monkey as he held her ankles, her feet hitting his chest lightly as she kicked. "Move horsey!" She called, gripping his hair.

Erza laughed, covering her mouth as Natsu grunted, "Yeah yeah, ease up on the hold there Ranger. That hurts." But he smiled despite the pain anyway. He let go of one of her legs and grabbed Erza's hand, staring into her eyes as Rose called out some more nonsense, causing the citizens of Magnolia to giggle and whisper to each other. "I'm not leaving this time, Erz. You're stuck with me now."

She squeezed his hand as they made their way through town, heading towards her house. "I wouldn't have it any other way."